Louisiana Looking to Stop Letter Grades for Public Schools

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is making a push to stop letter-grading public schools in Louisiana. Federal officials are expected to approve this requests amid declining test scores in the state.

The declining testing scores are being blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic. If this measure were to be approved, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is prepared to finalize the move during a committee meeting Tuesday and have plans set to go in to action by the full board on Wednesday.

The grades are set by how students did on key standardized tests. After standardized test scores took a nose dive during the pandemic, BESE voted to ask the US Department of Education to set aside accountability for Louisiana school's letter grading system for the 2020-2021 school year.